Substantial amounts of energy are wasted in the heating and cooling of masonry buildings because of the relatively poor insulating qualities of masonry materials, as well as its porosity, which permit high wind driven rains to penetrate deeply into the surfaces of the masonry walls of the buildings. Moisture intrusion into the masonry walls of the buildings causes BTU heat loss in the buildings as the heat in the buildings is utilized in evaporating the moisture.
Attempts to correct this situation have been made by spraying a resinous coating that atomizes the liquid material with an air stream. Other means of applying materials have been made by roller and brush application. At most, the three types of applications have resulted in a relatively thin veneer coating on the outer surface of the wall.
If an aspirator spray gun were held too close to the masonry wall surface, the resinous material would splatter. This is caused by the inability of the stone particles to absorb, by capillary action, the on-going atomized liquid material. Therefore, a spray device must be kept at a proper distance, say 10 or 12 inches away from the wall to prevent overrun. Atmospheric pressure application results. A capillary absorption of only about 1/32 to 1/8 of an inch can only produce a thin veneer coating on the outer surface. While this has improved the waterproofing quality of the masonry wall as compared to the untreated wall, this has still not proved completely satisfactory to obtain a decisive depth of penetration in a masonry building wherein sufficient dead air cells are entrapped for effective insulation.
The present invention provides a thermal insulated masonry wall comprised of layers of thermally insulated barriers extending laterally inwardly from the surface of the wall. This effectively encloses the masonry building in a thermal protecting envelope which reduces the energy needs of the building for air conditioning during the warm months and for heating the building during the cold months.
While the thermal insulating liquid is forced by pulsating air pressure, the stone granules in a masonry structure absorb the liquid by capillary action combined and pushed by the pulsating force to air-inject the liquid to a greater depth of penetration that would not be readily achieved by an ordinary continuous air velocity in the masonry structure. The pulsation effects a rapid stored-and-release of energy that forces the liquid to penetrate deeper to encapsulate the stone granules and air pockets at a higher rate thereby reducing splatter and overrun.
The entrapped dead air cells between the stone granules act as a thermal insulating barrier. The multiple layers of entrapped air pockets provide two main functions:
1. A waterproofing effect to prevent further moisture into the masonry structure. This moisture, if allowed to enter, would rob BTU heat losses in the winter as well as cooled air conditioning energy in the summer by evaporation. Also, the effect is to preserve the masonry against pollutants, aging and decay.
2. The multiple layers of dead air cells provide a multiple insulating effect on a masonry structure without changing its appearance since the thermal insulating coating has been air-injected deeply into the lattices of the stone crevices which has been observed to relieve vapor stresses by breathing. The multiple thermal and waterproofing protective insulation layers are more than skin deep. This differs from a series of deposits or thin veneers that can build up on the outer surface by multiple spray, roller or brush applications which often change surface appearances with a thick outer layer which can crack or peel by internal vapor stresses.